The Business Times marks 50th anniversary with milestone golf partnership, regional events and hotel tie-ups 

[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s premier financial daily, The Business Times, is marking its 50th anniversary with a slate of initiatives spanning a major sports partnership, regional thought-leadership events and subscription promotions.

Since its founding on Oct 1, 1976, BT, which is owned by SPH Media, has covered Singapore’s corporate and financial landscape. The paper has chronicled major economic events from the Pan-El crisis and the Clob saga, to the fall of Barings, the Asian financial crisis, the dotcom crash, the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kick-starting the celebrations next week is the launch of golf’s Singapore Open, presented by The Business Times. This is the first time that a news title has established a branding tie-up of this scale with a major sporting event.

To be held at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course from Apr 23 to 26, the national golf event is the second tournament on The International Series’ calendar and the fourth on the Asian Tour schedule.

The partnership aligns with BT’s goal to grow its readership across Asia and beyond, and to bring Singapore perspectives to the rest of the world.

“Just as a champion golfer navigates the course with calculated risk and unwavering focus, the businesses we celebrate – and the readers we serve – drive Singapore’s progress with that same spirit of agility and enterprise,” said The Business Times editor Chen Huifen. 

Teeing off with the Singapore Open

As part of the marquee celebration, subscribers who sign up for a two-year All-Digital News Subscription with BT will receive two complimentary tickets to the tournament’s premium hospitality suites. Those interested can go to sph.sg/sgopen.

Going global – and multilingual

BT is also broadening its international footprint in two notable ways. A new AI-curated tool now allows readers to access the publication’s original reporting in Simplified Chinese through a dedicated landing page on the BT website. The move is aimed at making its content more accessible to Chinese-speaking markets.

BT will also be available via smart TVs in selected properties across five major hospitality groups – The Ascott, Frasers Property, Frasers Hospitality, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, and Pan Pacific Hotels Group – catering to the travelling business professional, a core segment of its readership.

SEE ALSO

Golf’s Singapore Open returns with The Business Times as new presenting partner

The Business Times Global seeks to tell South-east Asia’s growth story through a regional lens

Taking the conversation regional

Beyond Singapore, BT is organising a series of overseas events in partnership with regional players. These include Sustainability Dialogues in Thailand and Malaysia focused on green transitions and corporate sustainability practices, as well as an Asia-focused economic summit to be hosted in Jakarta, bringing together industry leaders to discuss the region’s economic trajectory.

A gala and a legacy editorial series

To visually anchor the celebrations, BT has unveiled a bespoke BT50 logo, which will feature across its print, digital and app platforms through the end of the year.

The jubilee will also be marked by a special editorial project profiling companies and organisations that have forward-looking visions aligned with Singapore’s economic transition. The project is set to culminate in a BT50 Gala Dinner on Oct 1, where business leaders, partners, and stakeholders will gather to mark the occasion.

In January, BT launched BT Global, a new initiative dedicated to covering international and regional business developments through a South-east Asian lens.